Related Stories

“Did I catch you with your britches down?” Dolly Parton drawls sweetly down the line from her Nashville office.

Well, as a matter of fact she did — technologically speaking.

When the 65-year-old backwoods Barbie called me up nearly half an hour early for our latest interview last week, I literally got the wires crossed on my digital recorder and only ended up taping part of our talk.

Luckily, it’s not hard to remember Parton’s patter. The woman is a veritable quote machine who always speaks her mind — often in folksy one-liners.

And as usual, the hard-working singer, songwriter, actress, entrepreneur and philanthropist had plenty to get off her ample chest:

We covered everything from her inspirational 41st CD Better Day to her 45th wedding anniversary to her thoughts on gay marriage over the course of our friendly chat. Here are nine of Parton’s points to ponder:

1. Her new album Better Day is her personal response to today’s tough times.

The economy, the weather, all these disasters, they’ve got everybody so down, explains Dolly, who singlehandedly wrote all but one of the songs on the album. “I just wanted to be a little ray of sunshine, to remind people that things will get better.”

2. Don’t let her smile and laughter fool you: Dolly is as worried about the state of things as you are.

“People say to me, ‘You must be happy all the time.’ And I think, ‘What kind of shallow, silly person would that make me?’ ” She has her troubles just like everyone, she says. She’s “as big a sinner” as the next person. And she’s getting more scared, just like everybody else.

“God has given man this world, and we’re doing our best to screw it up.”

3. One thing screwing it up that she’d love to change: People judging each other.

We need to stop, she insists. “Whether you’re a Baptist or a Catholic or a Republican or a Democrat, everybody is so convinced that they’re the only one who’s right.” Instead, people need to start looking at things from the other person’s perspective.

4. Speaking of seeing it from the other side: Dolly is deeply religious — but in favour of gay marriage.

“I think gay people should be able to marry. I just hope that all those gay people who get married have friends who buy them Better Day as a wedding present,” she cracks. On a more serious note, she feels Christians who oppose gay marriage aren’t acting very Christian:

They’ve forgotten that the Bible preaches acceptance, tolerance and forgiveness.

5. Speaking of God — no, she’s not richer than He is.

“I can’t be; my family’s too big,” she laughs. “I have a lot of people to support behind the scenes.” In any case, as Parton loves to point out, she has never forgotten growing up dirt-poor — and still considers herself a regular working girl.

6. The key to her musical success? Freedom.

On a personal level, she says, never having children gave her the freedom to have a career. She would have sacrificed music for family if it came down to it. “I would have wanted to be a good mother.” On a professional level, she adds, her early success earned her the freedom to continue writing and recording the music she wants to make.

7. Professionally, her guitar is her best friend.

After nearly half a century in music, Parton still hasn’t lost her love of songwriting. “I write all the time,” she says. “I get up in the morning and when I walk past the guitar, I’ll sit down and pick out a few chords.” She no longer has to wait for inspiration to strike, she says: “I can sit down when I have to and be disciplined about it.” Ultimately, her songwriting is more important, more personal, more satisfying than singing and performing: It’s her therapy.

8. Personally, her husband is her best friend.

Parton met paving contractor Carl Dean at a laundromat on her first day in Nashville. Throughout her career, he has stayed out of her limelight while keeping her grounded. On May 30, they celebrated their 45th wedding anniversary in typically low-key fashion up at their lake house, she says. “We’re really proud of our marriage. It’s the first for both of us. And the last.”

9. Her long-awaited dance album? She’s still working on it — along with several other projects.

“I’m always working on something all the time. I like to stay busy,” she says. “It’s funny; people always talk about me coming back. But I never really go anywhere.”